This confusion leads to substantial costs for employers and professionals alike. Should practitioners that refer to themselves as data scientists hold advanced degrees? Or would several online courses suffice? Who is a ‘Senior Scientist’-a designation that is reserved for experienced scholars in every other scientific discipline?Īlthough ‘data scientist’ has emerged as a job title, every industry, function, and business appear to be looking for their definition of the role. The confusion stems not only from ‘which’ skills an analytics or data science professional must possess it also extends to determining ‘what’ level of skill and knowledge is required for a professional to qualify for a particular title. Naturally, the educational backgrounds, skills, abilities, and professional relevance of these individuals also vary greatly by project as well as position. Yet another faction of data scientists comprises business-facing data strategists. Some data scientists are machine learning and algorithm experts, while others specialize in developing and maintaining data infrastructure. The definition of data science itself is shrouded in uncertainty. However, the explosive growth surrounding data science has left in its wake a state of confusion regarding the basic definitions of related tools, methods, skills, and roles associated with this discipline. As predicted by (Markow et al., 2017), there are now more than 250 data science programs just in graduate schools (North Carolina State University, 2019). Some estimates predict the future demand for professionals with analytics and data science skills to exceed two to three million in the United States alone. Collectively, these professional disciplines are referred to as ‘analytics’ and ‘data science.’ The demand for analytics and data science skills parallels the growth of interest and investment in data science. The data could be structured or unstructured. The data could be in stored and managed in a variety of formats: from relational databases to NoSQL databases to massive data stores, file systems, federated or totally fragmented stores, or BigData platforms. These disciplines help unlock the value of data in a spectrum of organizations, businesses, scientific research, NGOs, and governments worldwide. Leading this transformation is a set of professional disciplines founded upon the principles of applied statistics, management science, and computer science, among several other fields. These developments have helped transform industries and led to the inception of new business models that focus on creating data-driven products, features, and services. What do you think of when you hear the term ‘data science?’ More importantly, who are data scientists, data engineers, and analytics professionals? We have observed over the last decade a surge of interest in all things ‘data.’ Data collection, processing, and interpretation have evolved over the years to become increasingly sophisticated. Keywords: data science roles, skills and knowledge, hiring and assessment, industry standards, data analysis, data science, analytics We then present a Data Science Knowledge Framework, that we believe can support industry standardization and building measurement and assessment methodologies for data science professionals. We review the history of data science, which we trace back to 1974, and the emergence of data science as a profession in the industry, followed by a classification of knowledge and skills commonly associated with data science professionals, pointing to a lack of detailed and consistent treatment of the topic. This article is the first in a series authored by Initiative for Analytics and Data Science Standards (IADSS). This has resulted in a confusing industry landscape for employers, academic and training institutions, and existing and aspiring data science professionals. However, almost every organization has a unique way of defining roles in data science and associated skills and knowledge. As the industry is racing to harness the power of data, demand for data science professionals is growing at an increasing rate.
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